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The Return Journey |
Hilary Wise |
Palestine News, London, Summer 2007, Page 29 & 30 |
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A large, detailed map of historic Palestine, from the Jordan to the Mediterranean, has been produced by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism. It bears the title ‘Touring Map of Israel’ and shows every town and village (mostly with a Hebrew name) – but indicates neither the Green Line nor the Separation Barrier, despite the latter’s looming presence across the landscape. There is no mention of ‘Palestinian Territories’, let alone ‘Occupied Territories’; simply a seamless stretch of territory, crisscrossed by new highways, that is wholly Israel. The naïve visitor can indeed tour the area and assume that every town and village they pass is within the state of Israel. |
Salman Abu-Sitta new book is a clear rebuttal of this shameless statement of Israel’s ultimate ambition. Essentially a scaleddown version of his magnum opus, ‘Atlas of Palestine 1948’, the 200-plus pages of detailed maps and commentaries are a powerful and poignant reminder of the ethnic cleansing that took place |
— and continues to take place |
— in Palestine. |
The introduction, in English and Arabic, gives all the essential information about the events that led up to the Nakba. From 1917, when Jewish Palestinians constituted only 9% of the population, owning 2% of the land, they grew through immigration to 30% of the population in 1947, owning 6% of the land. After the Nakba, they took possession of 78% of the land, and set about destroying hundreds of Palestinian villages, so that the inhabitants could not return. Even before the British withdrew, and before any Arab neighbor intervened, Palestinians had been driven from 200 villages. By April 1949, 675 villages had been depopulated. The fact that the seizure of land had been carefully planned well in advance is clear from the detailed map of the ‘Dalet plan’. The sites of the 70-odd major massacres that speeded the flight of the refugees are indicated.
Later maps show the villages destroyed in |
“ Above all, the book is an affirmation of the right of return of the refugees: Abu-Sitta shows that it is not just an inalienable, individual right under international law; it is also physically feasible” |
The 1967 war, and the routes and destinations of the two major waves of refugees. The maps also Show the growth of illegal Israeli settlements, roads and checkpoints, and the Apartheid Wall. |
So the book is more than a meticulously researched and handsomely produced record of dispossession and colonization. It is an invitation to actively explore and understand the history of the whole area – an invitation which may be taken up by Israelis as well as visitors with roots in Palestine. (The detailed index of place names is in Arabic, Hebrew and English.) Several routes are suggested – together with sensible advice about how to proceed with caution in sensitive areas. A select bibliography provides the reader with further important sources of information and analysis. |
Above all, the book is an affirmation of the right of return of the refugees: Abu-Sitta shows that it is not just an inalienable, individual right under international law; it is also physically feasible. Much of the refugees’ land is still sparsely populated, as the Jewish population has remained largely urban. For example, he points out that “all the rural Jews in the southern district, from Ashdod to Eilat, are less in number than one refugee camp in Gaza”. |
As the sixtieth anniversary of 1948 approaches and Israel threatens to announce its borders unilaterally, this is an essential work of reference that should be on the bookshelf of every serious student of the question of Palestine |
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